You’re listening to Wet Shaving Talk powered by Sharpologist.com where we’re dedicated to preserving the art and skill of classic shaving. I’m your host Joe Borrelli and today is January 27th, 2025.
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Today on the Show:
Maggard’s Meet-Up Announced
Amazon and What it’s Done for wet Shaving
Razor Emporium Meet-Up Announced
The Rockwell 6s Golden Anniversary Razor
Salute to Mitchell”s Wool Fat Closing Indefinitely
WR4 Razor Head from Wolfman Injector Style
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Maggard’s Meet-Up Announced
One of the biggest meet-ups of the year for Wet Shaving has been announced. Maggards will be hosting a meet-up in their historic building this April.
I am working with my schedule and will hopefully get to go this year. I’ll post an update in the next few weeks.
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Amazon, and What it’s Done for Wet Shaving
For those of you relatively new to wet shaving, there was a time when Amazon did not carry much wet shaving gear. Today there are thousands of items available, from main brands to artisans alike.
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Razor Emporium’s Meet-Up Announced
Just announced, Razor Emporium will be hosting their annual meet-up in less than a month. There will be a Yates CNC demo!
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Rockwell 6s in 24 Karat Gold Plating
Celebrating their 10 year Anniversary with a Special Razor. Limited to just 500 pieces, this razor is 24 karat gold plated and costs $225. Rockwell 6s was a razor produced by two college students who have since stood the test of time and are now celebrating 10 years! Congrats Guys!!
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Salute to Michell’s Wool Fat. Closed Indefinitely
It has been confirmed, Mitchell’s Wool Fat is no longer in production. There are several vendors out there that still have stock. (I just picked one up over the weekend).
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WR4 Injector Razor Head by Wolfman
Although not new, but not old either. Wolfman’s latest design has been getting decent reviews online. Wolfman Razors have recently become more obtainable, with some reporting that wait times are less than 30 days.
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Our show is powered by Sharpologist.com, “What Your Father Didn’t Teach You about Shaving”
Special Thanks to:
Mark aka Mantic 59
Most of All……….YOU!!!!
Don’t forget to check out my blog site www.shavestraightandsafe.com for the tips and interesting wet shaving stories!
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Subscribe to my You Tube Chanel for videos regarding some interesting wet shaving content.
Don’t forget to check out my book “The Modern Guide to Straight Razor Shaving” available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at Pasteur’s Pharmacy in NYC.
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Next Show: 2/10/25
Transcript (Machine-Generated)
You’re listening to Wet Shaving Talk, powered by sharpologist.com, where we’re dedicated preserving the art and skill of classic shaving. I’m your host Joe Borelli, and today is January 27th, 2025. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. I hope you all are staying warm out there in Every aspect because I think the whole country of the United States most of most of the northern hemisphere has been going through a huge cold snap I know Pensacola and Florida saw 10 inches of snow in last week Which is something that I think the record there was 4 inches in the 1890s or something like that.
So it is definitely uncharacteristic weather for the South and the North has been going through some big, big storms. So hopefully this finds you guys well, warm, and if it doesn’t, well, hopefully it warms you up just a little bit just by hearing my voice. A little joke to start off the podcast today. So today on the show, we’ve got a lot going on. We’ve got some meetups, we’ve got the Maggards meetup announced, That’s coming up in the next few months. Really, really interested in seeing what comes on in that. I am going to, honestly, I’m going to try and go to it.
I really want to. I’ve never been to Michigan and I heard that part of Michigan’s very nice, especially that time of the year in the spring, so I would like to go. I’m gonna try and make it happen, and if not, I will definitely be there in spirit. Amazon, and what it’s done for wet shaving, how it’s changed wet shaving, how has it made it easier, has it made it harder, has it made the prices go up, down, I’ll tell you my thoughts on that. Yet another meetup, the Razor Emporium meetup, which is just announced as well, that’s in Arizona.
So it’s going to be in February, but that’s been announced and they’re going to have some really cool guests and demos there. So we’ll talk a little bit about that. The Rockwell 6S Golden Anniversary Razor. I cannot believe Rockwell razors has been around 10 years and they’re celebrating it with a Gold-plated razor. We’ll talk a little bit about that as well Salute to Mitchell’s wolf at for closing indefinitely Yes, it’s been announced. It is confirmed via Badger and Blade that they are closed and they are whatever’s out there is all that’s going to be left.
We’ll talk about that. And the WR4 razorhead from Wolfman, the injector style. Starting to get some reviews on that 1. It’s been around for a few months and I’ll tell you what I’ve been hearing about that. So, without further ado, let’s get on with the show. Yes guys, it’s that time again. The eighth annual Maggard’s Wet Shaving Meetup is announced. It will be on the 26th of April from 12 to 5 p.m. And I’ll be located at the Maggard’s shop in Adrian, Michigan, which is about 40 miles, I believe Of 40 miles away. I’m not sure if it’s north or south, from the Detroit airport.
As you can see, I’ve been doing some research because I’d like to go. This is 1 of the bigger meetups that’s been consistently going on for the last 8 years. So it’s over 200 people have been in attendance last year. They’re capping it at 235 people. Tickets are on sale for $35 each, which comes with a $12 voucher for food at a restaurant close by. So usually, guys, this is a pretty good meetup to go to. I know for those of you who have been around for a while, more than 10 years, the Big Shave West used to be a big 1.
I got to go to that 1 year in California and it was amazing. I went to the last 1 they had at the Old Town Shaving Company, which was really very special because I used to really want to go. That’s when I was when it was really surreal for me to go meet to meet people up and I actually you know was just starting the podcast back then and Doing some videos here and there and just some on some real article writing and got to do on the panel and stuff. It was really fun. So I do recommend going to these if you can make it.
It is a day, it’s gonna be a weekend, so I am looking at trying to make it happen to go this year. I would love to go. And I’d love to bring my family as well. You know, 8 years of doing meetups is a big deal, and every year I believe this meetup gets better. So if you’re interested guys, just go to their website and you can look it up and purchase the tickets. I would do so on the 7th of February because that’s when they go on sale. Or at 11 a.m., so do it earlier than later.
I know that they do sell out, so you definitely want to get your tickets early. So really, I was thinking about this the other day, and like Amazon, what it’s done for wet shaving. A lot of people use Amazon for a lot of stuff, and I remember, and if you guys can correct me if I’m wrong, but about 10 years ago, if you’ve been around, you really couldn’t buy much on Amazon, right? A couple things here and there, wasn’t much, wasn’t very good stuff, but now you can see a lot is on Amazon, it’s a lot of it’s available, and it’s done a lot for the new wet shavers, right?
For those of you relatively new, there was a time when, to be honest, there was a time when Amazon didn’t have anything except a few soaps of a brand, a couple brands you never heard of. And now they carry artisan products, now they carry blades, they carry straight razors, safety razors, there’s a lot of stuff on there. Still not everything, I’m gonna be completely honest, but a lot. So it’s made it easier for the new wet shaver, and it’s made it easy for the hardest part about when you do make a purchase with wet shaving is the wait, right?
If you have Amazon Prime, which a lot of people do, you only have to wait sometimes 1 or 2 days to get your stuff, right? You can get, example, I bought a Mitchell’s Wolf at yesterday on Amazon. I couldn’t find it really anywhere else. I bought it on Saturday night at around 8 p.m. It came on Sunday before 2 p.m. So I could tell you back in the day, 10, 5 years, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I would purchase a wet shaving product and it would take 3 to 5 days to get here, sometimes longer because it was going through USPS, it was going through the artist in hands, it wasn’t really going through a quick process.
Now I got my soap within a day, which is fun and also, you know, takes a little bit of the excitement away from it, but it’s great because I have it now and I got to use it last night. I ordered it the night before and I’m using it the night after. So I think that’s what it’s done for the watch-saving world. It’s kind of eliminated that weight for many of the items. You know, example, I bought some blades on there as well the other day and I needed them because I ran out and I got them very quickly.
I got them within a day. Maybe I paid a little bit more for it, but not much. So, that’s what I think about Amazon. I think it’s really, and I think it’s getting better. The only thing is, if you’re an Amazon seller, I used to have an Amazon seller account, and I did a little bit of a drop shipping business on there a few years ago. It is very expensive to sell on Amazon as a retailer. So if you buy, say, a soap off Amazon, and it’s the same price as a soap from an artisan as from their website, they are losing more profit margin by far.
They’re just keeping it on Amazon just to have it readily available for people all over the world, right, to get them quicker. But if you do have the option, purchase it directly from the artisan or purchase it directly from the company that makes it because you are giving them more, of course, more profit margin for them and you get that more direct touch. You get better warranty, you can return it easier if there’s a problem, you can, if somebody you communicate with. So, pros about Amazon for wet shaving, how it’s changed the world. It has for wet shaving if you want to get stuff faster, you don’t have to worry about talking to anybody and it will be here quick.
That’s about the pros. The cons are the selection’s not really there, the artists in the smaller companies are losing profit margins so they’re not making as much so they cannot kind of hurt their living. And it’s again, the selection’s limited and it’s also loses that personalized touch. But Amazon has changed the wet shaving world and will continue to change the wet shaving world with the more items that they get on there. So, do I like Amazon? Do I hate Amazon? No, I think Amazon serves its purpose for wet shaving and for everything. And it has actually changed the world, and changed wet shaving.
So I think it’s done a lot of very good things for us, and will continue to do so. Moving right along, we have Razer Emporium. They announced their meetup, which isn’t in April. It’s going to actually be in a few months. So it’s going to be, I believe, February 22nd in Arizona. It’s going to be at Razer Emporium so if you haven’t been there I raise your Emporium is a brick-and-mortar shop with a fat with like a workshop in the back and they do everything they from Repairing razors to make making stuff. They do a lot of things and they just got a CNC meaning Tool, so they have the CNC machine which will actually create razors brushes and everything like that and they’re gonna have they’re gonna have Yates Razors actually they’re doing a demo So that’s incredible and that’s something where I would want to go see that because I’d love to watch them make a Razor from start to finish in front of everybody.
And maybe make 1, I think he’s making Razors there to order, so you get a Razor, you want to buy 1, they’ll make it for you right there. Really doesn’t get more special or closer to the artisan than that. So Razor Emporium is a great shop. Everybody raves about going there. I’ve never been there, haven’t been to Arizona. Hopefully someday I can. I’m trying to pick and choose these meetups because I’d love to go to both of them but I think this one’s just a little bit too close in time to make it to make the arrangements, but less than a month February 22nd, I believe it says on the website and you will be able to see razors being made in front of you.
Now also, remember Razor Emporium also created the Rex brand, so you have the Rex Ambassador, the Envoy, there’s a few razors that they actually make and put together there too, so you might be able to see some of that production, that. And then you can see how they do. I think he does a tour of the shop, how he replates razors, how they repair them and everything like that for the vintage razors that they’ve been doing, that kind of that business that they started and built up into something very big. So really interesting to see how that meetup goes and to see those demos and looking forward to seeing the videos on that 1 as well.
So if you’re in the area, go on to the Arizona Wet Shavers Facebook group and they will give you more information or directly at the Razer Emporium site. So I wanted to give a little salute to Rockwell, Rockwell’s success, 10 years. Funny because I remember I just got, when they came out, I was just getting, I just got married, so I just celebrated my 10th anniversary over the weekend, so woo-hoo, congrats to us. But congrats to Rockwell as well, and the success coming in with a 24-karat gold anniversary razor. What way to do it, man?
What way to celebrate 10 years, then to get a 24 karat gold? So it is a stainless steel razor that is coated in true 24 karat gold and is available with 500 only limited editions that are available. It costs about $225. So I think the cost is not too crazy for something like that. And you remember, like Rockwell, these guys started as college students, right? They started in college, they made a razor, they made the success, they had a lot of design development going on with it. They tried making a, they were really focusing on making an adjustable razor.
Like with a 1 piece adjustable, not the 1 with the plates. They went through a lot of research and development. It took them years to do it. And it’s paid off. They’re still here after 10 years. And Artisan’s still here after 10 years. I think it’s very successful. The majority of Artisans do not last this long. And this razor is still mainstream. You can see it in a lot of places. It’s on a lot of places online. It’s in a lot of brick and mortar shops as well. And it has always been a solid performer.
So if you haven’t tried a Rockwell, give them a try. If you’re looking for something really special or to commemorate them, 500 of these are being made, 24 karat gold, so check it out, Rockwell Razors. And just to do another little note Sorry about prior when we’re talking about Rockwell razors. Yes. I did celebrate my 10th anniversary and I went woohoo No, it’s a big deal. And I do I am very happy with my life. So don’t think I was just kidding around. 10 years of being married and then looking at a company going to 10 years, it’s funny because I remember when they came out, we were just starting off our life.
And it feels like, I guess that journey was coinciding together in certain areas. So if my wife’s listening, which I think she does here and there, I love you. I love my family and everything like that, so thank you very much for a beautiful 10 years. Looking forward for 10 more. So I didn’t want to keep it like that. Felt a little bit bad on how I did the woohoo. Wasn’t really that big, I guess. Wasn’t really that, didn’t sound that enthusiastic, but it really is, and really happy about that. So now we’re gonna salute to Mitchell’s Wolfhat.
So Mitchell’s Wolfhat closing indefinitely. This has been confirmed by Badger and Blade. A gentleman on Badger and Blade sent an email out to the company and said, sorry we are closed but there’s plenty of stock out there. We will no longer be producing Mitchell’s Wool Fat. We thank you very much. But that will be the last bash that was made was it. So whatever’s out there guys is out there. And as I said, mentioned earlier in the podcast, I did purchase a puck, it’s here. It is not the 1 with tallow in it. I had 1, but I used it up.
I used it up a while back and I gave a couple samples out to some friends. So I don’t have any more of the ones with the actual tallow. Now this is the vegetable based 1. Now guys, even Mitchell’s Wolfette’s been around for almost 100 years. It’s a company that’s stood the test of time losing wet shaving, gaining wet shaving, all that good stuff. So I’m a little surprised that they’re not gonna stick around. And a little bit disappointed to be honest. I thought they would be able to hang in there through the tough times.
And the tough times I thought were basically the 1980s until 2010s, right? Because that’s when we had no edge shaving, really, right? 1980s, until about the 2000s when it started to resurface, and that’s when really it came back. But these guys, they decided it’s just not working out. I think when they changed it, when you see them change the original formula from having tallow in it to no longer having it, it just kind of shows like, hey, they’re trying to either cut cost or, I saw that and I thought that was pretty bad, so I thought that was the first sign that they’re going through some struggles.
But now, as it’s confirmed, they are no longer producing it. So if you see it out there, guys, that’s it. It’s all that’s out there. If you’re lucky enough to get the 1 that’s actually got tallow in it That’s the classic Mitchell’s wolf out. We’ve been talking about for years Hold on to it use it sparingly keep it around because you won’t be able to really find it now Of course, there’s many sellers that have it again. I bought the new puck on Amazon, it got here in a day, so it’s still out there, and the price is not bad, I think I paid $25 for it, which is about right, for just the puck.
I didn’t get the whole ceramic cup. The ceramic cup’s probably gonna be about $50, but I didn’t really need that. I’ve used Mitchell’s Wolfhound enough to where I know, hey, I’m good with just having the puck and putting it in a Tupperware. That’s how I use those type of things. If I don’t have the refill, if I buy a refill, sometimes I’ll save it to save money. I don’t buy the stuff with the glass jar or the wooden disc. I’ll just buy the refill and put it into a plastic container or something like that, Tupperware container that fits it.
I actually have little ones that work really well with the fine accoutrements soap. I use something like that and I use that and I just label it. But yeah, they’re no longer in production, guys, and that’s a shame because it’s been around for, I think since the 1940s, 1930s, it’s been around for about 100 years, if not longer. It’s just a shame that they’re gone, but you know what all things come to an end so Enjoy the what Mitchell’s wolf at enjoy I guess you know poking fun at it if you did and over the years because it will definitely be Along with the dodo here in in the next 5 or 6 years.
And finally guys talking about Wolfman Razors, you know I’m a big fan of Wolfman Razors, always have been since they came out back in I believe 2014. So they’ve been around for about 11 years now I think, maybe a little bit older. I remember when they came out their first razor we talked about it many times on the podcast the bbs 1 and how it evolved into wolfman and all that so For years he had the WR1 head. That was just a basic double-edged head with different ways of making it. He did dual comb, solid bar, different gaps and everything.
Basically a very customized razor. Good finish, good quality, good steel. He evolved it to the WR2, which was a bigger gap type blade, double-edged razor. Then they did the single-edged razor which is WR3 and now they’re doing an injector style WR4 So it’s been around for a few months now. I’ve been watching it, but I’ve seen some reviews. It does look like it’s been getting some positive reviews. I mean, again, not new, it’s not old either, the concept, but their latest design has been getting, it really fits in that injector crowd. It is a two-piece razor so you don’t need to use the injector like actual container to put the blades in.
So you can take it apart put the blade in there and use it like a regular double-edged or single-edged razor. It’s been reporting that the wait times now from Wolfman 2 guys are less than 30 days if you’re looking to buy a Wolfman razor. I do know that Wolfman razors prices have gone up significantly over the years. I remember my first 1 I purchased was in 2015, I believe, and I paid $125 for it, full razor. It was a WR1. Now I think that same razor, The basic razors are going for around 500 dollars So I mean if it’s something that you’re looking to make an Investment if you if you’re looking to buy something that’s really good I am a full believer that these are good razors and they’re probably 1 of the better ones out there best ones out there quality wise they are fun to use and they’re really fun to Collect and hold on to and just to look at and they come in great presentation You know with the little stand that comes with it that you can purchase as well.
And it is a good razor if you wanted to get, you know, a really good high-end razor, this is the way to do it. And for those Wolfman fans out there, I’m sure they’ve got all of them. There’s always somebody like that. So Wolfman razors, guys, also, over the years, they were very hard to get. The wait lists were up to 6 months to a year. Now they’re about 30 days or less. So I mean you can pretty much pick 1 up almost within the same month if you really try. At least that’s what was reported to me as of yesterday.
So I talked to a couple people that said, hey, I got mine, I ordered it, I went on the list, I ordered it, I got it within 30 days. And I thought that’s pretty cool, because when you get on the list, they’ll call you and say, what are the configurations you want? You tell them what you want, and then they’ll tell you, okay, well, we’re gonna make it, we’ll let you know when it’s ready to ship, and then when it’s ready to ship, I think you pay the rest of it, you pay 50% or whatever.
And there’s a few people working for Wolfman now too, so it’s a little bit quicker, a little bit more organized. It used to be just James doing everything, machining, online, everything like that. Now he’s got a team, I think, of 2 or 3 people. So WR4, if you have 1, let me know. Send me an email. If not, take a look at the reviews if you’re interested. This is for the injector guy. And remember, if you have a Wolfman razor already, you just have to buy the head, you don’t have to buy the handles. The handles all work together, so they’re all the same 1.
So if you wanted to, you can just hold onto it and just buy it, you can purchase just parts from them directly as well. Alright everybody, well that concludes the podcast this week. A lot of stuff going on in the wet shaving world. This is great to hear. January has been a very busy month and we won’t see you again until February. Now a couple things in the works I wanted to do, I didn’t put these in the show notes, it’s like a little secret, I guess, or a little, I don’t know, what do you would talk, like a little bonus footage.
I am working on some social media for the podcast. I’m working on, I just created an actual Instagram page. It’s gonna be the Wetshaving Talk podcast. Wetshaving Talk is the actual username. And I’m gonna start working on that and getting that going here in the next couple of weeks. It’s already in existence, but I’d like to start posting stuff on it and learning more about that social media aspect to see if that helps with you guys, with communication and talking about the podcast and learning about the staying up to date on the latest news. So that’ll be coming out soon.
It’s actually already in the works. And a couple other things, do some more content as well for that and for some social media coming up. But alright guys, that concludes the show for this week. Our show, remember, it’s powered by sharpologist.com, what your father didn’t teach you about shaving. Special thanks to you guys, the listeners, And Mark, Mantic59, for everything that he does in the wet shaving community. Don’t forget to check out my blog at ShaveStraightAndSafe.com. If you notice there’s some changes on it, we’re working on it as we speak. And always feel free to email me at joe.wetshavingnews at gmail.com.
Don’t forget to check out my book, The Modern Guide to Straight Razor Shaving, which is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Pasteur’s Pharmacy in New York City. Next show will be on February 10th, 2025. And until then, shave straight, Shave safe! Bye bye now.
